Note:
These registration guidelines are for fiscal year-ends January 1, 2022 and onwards. The ministry will notify you of any revisions to these guidelines.

We issued these guidelines on April 20, 2022 under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005. This document is not legal advice. For further information and the exact wording of any legal provisions cited, please refer to the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 and its regulations.

Overview

In order to continue to be registered, career colleges must renew their registration with the Superintendent of Career Colleges on an annual basis. Each career college will have a different renewal date depending on its fiscal year-end date. These guidelines are applicable for fiscal years ending in January 2022 and onwards.

The deadline to submit an application for renewal of registration is six months following the career colleges fiscal year-end date. Applications for renewal can be submitted at any time during this six-month period.

Late applications

A career college may submit a late application for renewal of registration for up to two months after the application deadline. If an application is submitted during this two-month period, the career college will be subject to a late fee equal to 50% of its total renewal fees.

How to check the renewal deadline

A career college can log-in to the Program Approval and Registration Information System (PARIS) to see its renewal deadlines:

  • select Organization in the left-hand navigation panel
  • click on View Organization,
  • find the deadlines in the section Organization Information

If you do not have a log-in to PARIS, contact the ministry's Career Colleges Branch.

If a career college has not submitted a complete application for renewal by 8 months following its fiscal year-end, its registration will expire at 12:00 a.m. of the day immediately following its date of expiry.

Expiry of registration for failure to submit a complete renewal of registration application is automatic under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 and is non-discretionary. If a career college’s registration expires, it must immediately cease offering, advertising, charging, or collecting fees for vocational programs that require the superintendent’s approval, and it must provide full refunds to any students enrolled in the programs.

Pursuant to subsection 17(3) of the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005, 2005, if a career college submits a complete application for renewal before its expiry date, the career college’s registration will continue past that expiry date until the superintendent decides to renew or refuse the registration under s.18.

Each career college will receive renewal notifications from PARIS.

PARIS specifies the date by which each career college is required to apply for renewal of registration, as well as the date that each career college’s registration will expire if it fails to submit an application for renewal.

Use PARIS to monitor your email from the ministry:
The Superintendent of Career Colleges and the staff of the Ministry of Colleges and Universities use the e-mail address listed in PARIS to communicate with career colleges at their head office locations.

It is the responsibility of every career college to ensure that the e-mail address for your career college submitted in PARIS is up-to-date and actively monitored for notices from PARIS, the ministry, and the superintendent.

Reporting requirements

The PDF version of the Renewal Registration guidelines for 2022 and onwards contains sample reports.

As of February 4, 2019, a new Program Approval and Registration Information System (PARIS) replaced the Registration Information for Career Colleges (RICC) system. Policy requirements for renewal of registration under the Ontario Career Colleges Act, 2005 remain unchanged and are implemented in PARIS.

Financial, student enrolment, and business information must be input/confirmed by career colleges in PARIS as part of their renewal of registration requirements. Hard copies of the packages are no longer accepted.

Registration check list

Items to include with the renewal

For renewal submissions 2022 fiscal year-end and onwards, career colleges are required to provide the following in their renewal applications in PARIS:

  • Audited annual consolidated financial statements of the career college’s entire legal entity accompanied by an auditor’s report; audit must be conducted by a licensed public accountant registered in Ontario pursuant to the Public Accounting Act, 2004.
  • Audited Schedule 1: Monthly Prepaid Unearned Vocational Revenue, accompanied by a Canadian Auditing Standards (CAS) 805 audit report (only for Ontario locations).
  • Audited Schedule 2: Revenue by Funding Source, accompanied by a CAS 805 audit report (only for Ontario locations).
  • Audited Schedule 3: International and Domestic Student Enrolment, accompanied by a CSAE 3531 audit report (only for Ontario locations).
  • If the career college has entered into a Public College – Private Partnership, a copy of that agreement should be uploaded in Additional Supporting Documents section in PARIS.
  • Supporting documentation of any change in business or corporate information, if applicable (for example, corporation name, directors, location).
  • If the career college has provided a surety bond as its financial security, a continuation certificate for the surety bond.
  • Evidence of third-party transcript vendor contract (not applicable to flight schools).
  • Evidence of the last transcript upload referencing the date and year.
  • Input and confirm their Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (CRA BN) in PARIS and provide supporting documents. The CRA BN is a unique, 9-digit number—the standard identifier for businesses. It is unique to a business or legal entity. The supporting document can be in the form of HST or payroll registration.
  • Career colleges are encouraged to pay registration fees through PARIS using a credit card (Mastercard or VISA) or online debit (Mastercard Debit or VISA Debit) payment. You can also submit a certified cheque, money order, or bank draft payable to the Minister of Finance for all renewal fees in the amount specified in PARIS, with the legal name of the career college printed on the back.
  • For payments made by certified cheque, the receipt generated by PARIS (that is, a confirmation page that can be printed) must be mailed to the ministry at the address specified on the receipt. Please be aware that payments must be received in our office prior to the expiry date.

Renewal of registration checklist is also available from PARIS.

Download and review the PDF version of the Renewal of Registration guidelines for details about each of the above items.

Deadlines

  • Six months after the college’s financial year-end a career college must submit its Renewal of Registration.
  • Eight months after the college’s financial year-end, to avoid expiry of its license to continue operating, a career college must submit its Renewal of Registration.

Late penalties apply.

Incomplete or late renewals

  • applications for renewal of registration will not be processed until all of the required documentation is received through PARIS
  • incomplete applications cannot be accepted and will be returned
  • failure to submit a complete application before the application deadline will result in additional fees for the application
  • failure to submit a complete application before the expiry deadline will result in expiry of registration as a career college

Information

If you have questions, log-in to PARIS  to connect with the ministry’s Career College Branch.

If you need assistance with your PARIS log-in contact the ministry:

 PCC@ontario.ca

Ministry of Colleges and Universities
Registration Unit, Career Colleges Branch
77 Wellesley Street, Box 977
Toronto, ON
M7A 1N3